Simon Doull disagrees with the newly-built narrative that India have a problem with handling pressure in knockout ICC events. The cricketer-turned commentator instead feels that Virat Kohli's men have repeatedly come against extraordinary performances from an opposition player or simply a 'better team'.
India's chastening defeat to New Zealand in the World Test Championship (WTC) final on Wednesday was the latest in a series of losses in the deciders. The side hasn't won an ICC trophy since 2013, despite reaching the semi-finals in every tournament, with the best players often failing to stand up in crunch situations.
However, Simon Doull said that a losing team is always looked at through a negative glass. He argued that even New Zealand have had a similar run but it didn't mean that they were not good enough to win multi-nation titles.
"I don't think so. I didn't ever think that New Zealand had an issue playing on the big stage for the most part either. It's just sometimes, somedays, you come up against a guy who's on song, [like] a Trent Boult who's just finding that length and the line and the ball starts to swing and you don't find a way. I think it's always easy to look at what your team is doing bad and I am guilty of that as well and sometimes you just look around and you say, 'You know what? They were just a bit too good for us'," Simon Doull said on Cricbuzz.
In India's eight-wicket defeat to New Zealand, no batter could put up a half-century and the bowlers struggled for consistency. Skipper Virat Kohli returned scores of 44 and 13, while Jasprit Bumrah surprisingly went wicketless.
Citing examples of a couple of match-changing moments in the recent ICC deciders, Simon Doull suggested that cricket games change unpredictably and that doesn't mean one team has a problem on the big stage.
He even asserted that Indian players are the best 'groomed' for high-pressure games because of the IPL.
"Martin Guptill hitting the stumps from 40 meters, MS is out by that much. We might be having a different conversation [otherwise]. You know, Ben Stokes diving and the ball hitting the bat, we might be having a different conversation about New Zealand [otherwise]. These things happen and they happen day in day out in games of cricket. I don't ever think that India have got a problem on the big stage. I think, their players are better groomed for the big stage than anyone, to be honest, through the IPL. I just think that on the odd occasion they have come against the better side, a guy having a great day out," added Simon Doull.
Concluding his remarks, Simon Doull also questioned whether India's selection choices have played a role in these defeats. He said:
"For the last couple of tournaments, there's been talk around selection again. Are they taking the wrong guys every now and then in the tournament?"